Overview

In a varied but wonderful climate, the bridge between Europe and Africa, the crossroads of three continents, has kept inside green forests and steep gorges all that nature has to offer. This island, the largest of Greece, is a place with tall mountains, fertile valleys and clean beaches.

Crete offers many surprises in its changing nature...forests of palm trees meet tall mountains, then majestic plateaus and then the sea. But it is a sea you have never seen before. Because this one will make you feel you are a part of its hidden world, the beaches will place you on gentle waves that carry elements of ancient cultures from distant places. And then you can visit the famous gorges and the deep forests with the living wild life.

Crete also carries a long history that goes back to the 7th millennium BC. It is the island that brought us the Minoan civilization with buildings of perfect architecture, and where later came the religious Byzantium years from which many monasteries are still preserved today. Crete also cultivated a rich culture that offered us El Greco and Nikos Kazantzakis, that developed unique customs, dances and music visible even in the present modernized life.

A big part of what makes Crete a very special place is its people. The proud men and women of Crete, the hospitable locals that under romantic nights will welcome you inside a little cafe or an ouzery of a picturesque village and offer you Greek coffee or tsikoudia with meze (raki with spicy snacks).

Crete is a mixture of the glorious civilizations and cultures of the past, but is also a world living and creating new traditions in the present. There are many big cities that developed on the north side of Crete, around the ports but also in the mainland. Crete is divided in four prefectures of Chania (Hania), Heraklion (Iraklio), Lassithi and Rethymnon. You can reach the island by boat in the four ports of Souda (near Chania), Rethymnon, Sitia and Heraklion, the largest city and the capital of Crete. There are also 3 airports in Chania, Heraklion and Sitia that connect Crete with the rest of Greece .

The land of history, culture and feasts offers you its smile and welcomes you in the mysterious yet familiar world of the Cretans.